Fresh Butter Beans!

We went to the local Farmer's Market today for something to make for dinner.  It was a hot and busy day with lots of people shopping for fresh produce.  Today's list included Red Delicious apples, russet potatoes, locally grown onions, butter beans,  Vy's Pies , and to see if the quilt lady they advertised about was really my sweet friend Pauline.  I got lucky on so many counts.

Now for the confession:  I do not like Lima beans or butter beans.  Really and truly.  The real reason I picked up the butter beans today was for my daughter Paulina who loves them.  Neither she nor I had ever eaten them fresh.  The amazing revelation is that fresh butter beans taste NOTHING like the canned or dry ones.  They were amazing.  They were so good that my oldest daughter (who never eats anything green) loved them!

It all started with a small bushel of locally grown, fresh butter beans. I dumped them in the strainer and rinsed  well to get off all the little leaves and dirt.

Into the pan they went with just enough water to cover and some salt for flavor. They boiled for thirty minutes.  I drained them and added some butter (you really are not surprised, are you?) and stirred well so the butter melted.

The butter beans were wonderful! Needless to say, there were no leftovers. I am amazed that she and I both loved them.  A new favorite bean to our menu!!

The proof is in the picture. Billieanne....actually eating something green. I love my beautiful daughters.

It was a comfort food kind of night

Today was a sad day for my children and their biological father. His mother passed away last night and I pray that she is resting in peace.  Tonight was not a night to try something new and fancy so I did what any good Italian momma would do and busted out the pasta, the butter, the garlic and the bacon!

I put some garlic bread in the oven to bake while I made the rest of this quick and comforting dish.  One pound of bacon was put into a pan to fry into crispy goodness. One pound of pasta went into salted water to boil.  One and a half sticks of butter went into a pan so that I could clarify it into a wonderful sauce.  I smashed and minced 10 cloves of garlic.  While the pasta boiled and the bacon fried, I put the garlic into the clarified butter to marry and meld into garlicky goodness.

When the pasta was finished it was drained and put into a large bowl. The bacon was crumbled over top and I poured on the clarified butter and garlic. It was tossed together and served with the garlic bread.

Overall it was a very comforting meal that everyone enjoyed. It has been a sad day and bacon and pasta generally make things better. Maybe not the healthiest of meals but since we don't use bacon very often, I think it was okay.

Don't forget to tell the ones you love that you do love them. Also do not forget to share your faith with them as well. You never know when it will be too late.

If "Chopped" can do it, so can I! (In other words, making something new out of leftovers!)

I had a mess of spaghetti with meat sauce leftover from just a few days ago and I absolutely was not going to let it all go to waste. One of my favorite new episodes of "Chopped" on Food Network had leftovers in each mystery basket. It was very intriguing how they re-worked the various items into something new. It was a challenge I was ready to take on!

My pursuit began at the grocery store. Strolling through the vegetables and various other rows with my beautiful red-headed daughter Paulina, I was looking for something to inspire me.  Inspiration came in the form of my girl pointing out the pre-made pizza crusts and suggesting we do a spaghetti pizza! Grabbing the crusts, some extra tomato sauce and some shredded Parmesan, we headed home to make some magic!

I put some butter (yes, butter - sometimes it is the only thing that will do) in a saute pan to melt and added one large yellow onion chopped with three smashed and chopped cloves of garlic to get soft and yummy. Next I chopped some fancy Italian zucchini into small chunks and put it into the onions and garlic to soften up as well.

While the zucchini and onion and garlic married in the pan and embraced the butter, I began to prepare the crusts for their toppings.  I spread the crust with a very thin layer of spaghetti sauce.

Next came a layer of the leftover spaghetti and meat sauce.

Following this was a layer of freshly chopped white mushrooms, a layer of shredded Parmesan cheese, and then a heaping spoonful of the sauteed zucchini, onions and garlic.

Then more Parmesan and a heavy layer of sharp Cheddar cheese.

Now, as many of you know I have quite a few carnivores in my household. There is one in particular who wants to eat healthier but just can't seem to go "green" with her vegetables - literally. Therefore I made a second pizza that was strictly for the meat-eaters.  It started with the same base of the pizza crust, a little sauce, the spaghetti with meat sauce but then I added a healthy topping of pepperoni.

I added the Parmesan and Cheddar cheese to the top of this and threw them both in a 450 degree oven for about 10-minutes to heat through, crisp the crust and melt the cheese. While the pizzas were baking, I put together a salad of mixed greens, chopped red, yellow and orange sweet peppers, chopped fresh mushrooms, grape tomatoes, a chopped apple, Parmesan and Cheddar cheese.

And finally on the plate:

The vegetable pizza was my favorite.  The zucchini and onion blend mixed with the pasta and the crisp crust was dancing across my palate. It was so very, very good. I preferred it to the all meat version.  Overall I believe this leftover experiment was a success.

Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

My amazing husband has quite the sweet tooth. I love making him happy so I set out to make a dessert with three things he really likes: raspberries, coffee and Milano cookies.  I wish that I could say I came up with this idea all by myself but alas, I cannot.  It came from a "new" cookbook found yesterday while on my thrift store marathon! It is called "Campbell's Potluck For All Occasions" by Publications International Ltd. 2007.  The recipe can also be found online right here: Campbell's Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

It is an interesting cookbook and I was impressed with the recipes.  I got very excited when I found the trifle recipe.  I knew I had to make it for my sweet husband.  The only problem with the recipe was that I do not have a trifle bowl! How trifling! (Sorry! I could not resist!)

I started with three bricks of cream cheese, softened.

I put a second bowl and beaters in the freezer to get cold while I beat three cups of powdered sugar into the cream cheese.  I needed the other bowl and beaters cold because I was going to whip some heavy whipping cream and having a cold bowl and beaters helps the whipping go quicker and easier!

 Combining the powdered sugar and cinnamon was no easy feat for my little handheld mixer! I should have used my Kitchen Aid but I had it busy behind me whipping the heavy cream into a frenzy of fluffiness!

I added the cinnamon to my cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture and combined until it was light tan and smooth.

The heavy whipping cream that whipped all light and fluffy was folded it into the cream cheese mixture.

I began the layering.  First a layer of the cream cheese on the bottom. Next dip the Milano cookies into a cup of strong brewed coffee and place them on top.

 A sprinkle of raspberries and the the layering begins again.

I just kept dipping and layering until I reached the top! A few extra raspberries for good measure and the trifle was done! How does it taste? I have NO idea! It is in the refrigerator right now, setting up. I will let you know!!

Sausage Gravy over biscuits

Yep....you read it right. I flew right off the handle and straight into the loving land of Comfort Food. I guess I am stressing about a few things and just needed the comfort of my mother's cooking. Sausage gravy was something my mother made frequently. Sometimes she even made it with plain old hamburger. It depended only on what was on sale or how much money she had for groceries that week.

Sausage gravy:

(2) rolls of mild sausage gravy (the kind you slice into patties)
Fresh ground black pepper
Almost room temperature whole milk (if you are going to cheat, do it right!)
Flour


Instead of cutting the sausage into patties, I just squeezed the tubes out into a large, deep pan and crumbled and fried it until nice and done and lightly brown. Liberally pepper the sausage as you fry it. When it is done move it out of the pan to a plate.  The remaining drippings left in the pan - you decide how much you want to use.  I did not drain any of it as I wanted all the flavor. I added approximately 1/2 cup of flour into the drippings and stirred well to make a light brown roux.  Slowly stir in the milk.  I used almost 2/3rd's of the gallon of whole milk. I keep it over medium heat and keep stirring until it starts to thicken up. At this point I add my cooked sausage back into the pan.

As I am standing in my kitchen and stirring I start to get rather melancholy.  I realize as I stand here by myself that my children won't really know how to make these recipes that are so dear to my heart.  They won't know what it is like to stand in the kitchen with my mother and learn the old ways. Sometimes I think this blog will end up being the only way they will ever know how to make the comfort food that I used to make for them after I am gone.  But then in walks a hungry teenager asking if dinner is almost ready and I snap out of my sorrowful state and get back to the business at hand!

The gravy thickens up nicely and I call everyone to the table.  Nothing like breakfast for dinner! We pour our sweet, milky comforting sausage gravy over flaky biscuits and enjoy.

 I love sit-down dinners with my husband and my kids.  I hope some day they do the same thing with their families, whether they have children or not.  Dinner should be eaten together, at the table, thanks given to God and laughs and stories of the day shared.  Reminds me of the words that I try very hard to live by:  In ALL things give thanks.  Thank you Jesus for my family and my life.

Cleaning recipe as seen on Facebook

I would very much like to say FIRST that I can take no credit for the formula I am about to share with you.  It was seen as originally posted on Facebook by Melissa Hartzog. One of my friends follows her and reposted this amazing potion! Here is the link to her page:

Melissa Hartzog

She posted a "miracle kitchen cleaner" and I decided I must give it a try as I could not get my favorite cookie sheet all the way clean no matter what I did.  The recipe is simple:

1/4 cup of baking soda
Hydrogen peroxide

Put the baking soda in a glass bowl and add just enough of the peroxide to form a smooth paste. Rub it on the stain and either use your fingers or a sponge to scrub away the stain.

To be perfectly honest, I really did not think it would work.  Boy was I ever wrong!  Take a look:

This is my favorite cookie sheet with the edges seemingly forever stained by getting sprayed with cooking spray and baking on it over and over again.  I really do love this cookie sheet.  That is why I decided to give it a try.  Take a look at my after photo from trying Melissa's secret formula:

Pretty impressive, huh? It really did work.  I am so happy! My cookie sheet almost looks brand new!
Thanks Melissa! You are awesome!

My mother's chicken and stuffing casserole

I was in need of a good casserole to take to some friend's home.  As a member of a close church family, it is a real privilege to help out another family. I was trying to decide what to make. That is when I remembered my mother's favorite casserole.  It was fast, easy and really good.  I forgot to take pictures this time but trust me, its yummy!  Here is what you need:

(1) box of Cornbread stuffing
(1) box of Herb stuffing
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Herb soup
(1) can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup (you can substitute the cream of chicken soup if you don't like mushrooms)
Chicken stock
Cooked chicken, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Into a large bowl combine both cans of soup with 1 3/4" soup cans of chicken broth.  Stir well until combined.  Add both boxes of dry stuffing mix and stir until mixed well.  Stir in the chicken.  Spread into a 13" x 9" pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes covered with foil and then for about 10 minutes without foil until the top is lightly brown.

Be careful about adding any salt to this recipe as it is quite salty enough from the dry stuffing mix.  I think my mom added a melted stick of butter too but I am not sure. I opted to not add it. (I know you are shocked!)

This is a great recipe for church suppers and company. I hope you try it. My mom used to make it all the time.